I could be wrong, but isn’t he the same kind of dude as Jaqen H’ghar is? Wouldn’t it have been easy to just have a throwaway line in there from Dany like, “You may have changed your face, but you’re still the same kind of mercenary” or some shit like that?

The new actor they cast was kind of bland. He lacked the ‘swagger’ of the first actor. That was my only complaint about the episode, other than that it wasn’t 2 hours long. This show excels at always leaving me wanting more.

There’s a part of me that wants Arya to get some measure of revenge, but she seemed to have a real gleam in her eye as she killed that soldier. She really seemed to like it. I’d like her to get some revenge, but I don’t want her turning into a full-blown psychopath. Having said that, life in Westeros is pretty brutal, so being a psychopath might be a necessary survival skill.

Lots of great stuff in this episode but they’ve also pulled a ton of stuff that is supposed to happen after some pretty big events that haven’t happened. I’m guessing they are cutting things due to budget because there isn’t a reason to pull characters and scenes like this if you still plan to do the things that lead up to them.

Yeah you really start to feel sorry for Jaime, that scene where he explained to Brianne about why he killed The Mad King you really understand that he does have honor. It was crushing to see the scenes with Tywin and Cersei. I’m wondering what he does next, the writing on the wall’s that Tyrion is leaving but Jaime’s next moves will be fun.

Goddamn, the way she just nonchalantly and slowly stabbed the both of them. Arya Stark is the best Stark. Some fantastic comedy as well. The scene where Bronn nodded yes while Tyrion shook his head no when Oberyn asked if they wanted some girls was hilarious.

How are there already 87 comments on this board?! It’s only 9:30am (on the east coast). Wow. I’m already late to the party. I have a question for my fellow GoT fans: While trying to secure the rights, Benihoff and Weiss said they had a meeting with GRRM and he asked them who they thought Jon Snow’s mother was. They told him who they thought it was and GRRM agreed to give them the rights. Here’s my question: As a non-book reader, has the t.v. show given the viewer enough clues as to Jon Snow’s parentage to be able to formulate a theory?

Not really. The books hint very strongly down a particular path, but lots of readers think that GRRM is just throwing out a red herring (I’m one of them). There is only one character that can prove or disprove the prevailing theory and he has not been formally introduced in even the books. If you want to spoil yourself, search for Tower of Joy.

In one of the first episodes, Ned tells Jon Snow he’s a Stark. He doesn’t necessarily say ‘you’re my son.’ In a later conversation with Robert, Ned refuses to tell him who Jon’s mother is (or what she looked like). Why would Ned want to keep it a secret from Robert? Did Rhaegar Targaryn pull a ‘Paris’? Did he fall in love with Lianna Stark, who was pledged to Robert Baratheon, spirit her away, and start the Westeros equivalent of The Trojan War? Is Jon Snow the son of Rhaegar Targeryean and Lianna Stark? Because if Robert thought the love of his life ran away with another man, that would’ve crushed him – which is why Ned decided to keep it from him.

wow, @warrenbishop… wow. I’m also not a book reader, but I was SO INTERESTED in this little detail. and your theory sounds so accurate and awesome, I’ll refuse to believe any other until things start unveiling.